What happens to your muscles when you sit? 9 Oct 2020

- Shortening of the hamstring muscle.
- Overworking of the Erector Spinae muscle group and the development of trigger points.
- Overworking of the Iliopsoas muscle group and the development of trigger points.
- Diffuse achy - type pain radiating out from the groin area to the lower back, and possibly around to the side of the hip and the butt area. If the trigger points in the groin are not pressed, the pain is not sharp or stabbing.
- Relief of pain is often experienced by sitting down.
- Worse upon lengthening the iliopsoas, i.e. when one stands up, or straightens the hip joint.
- Worse for doing situps.
- Worsened by externally rotating the hip (i.e. making the knee cap look outward) when the hip joint is fully extended.
- In patients with sciatic nerve pain, lying flat on one's back with the legs out straight causes the trigger point tightened iliopsoas to compress the lumbar vertebrae together, with the result that the nerve roots of the sciatic nerve are compressed too.
- When lying flat on one's back, doing a straight leg raise reveals weakness on the affected side.
- In patients with sciatic nerve pain due to nerve root compression, lying flat on one's back with legs out straight stretches that trigger point tightened iliopsoas. The result is that the iliopsoas compresses the lumbar vertebrae together, and the the nerve roots of the sciatic nerve are compressed at the same time.